Stephen Hadley, President Bush's National Security Adviser, recently appeared on ABC's "This Week" with
George Stephanopoulos and was asked about Tibet and the intention of some countries to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in China. Here's what he said, according to a transcript on Huffington Post (via SAJAForum):
"If countries are really concerned about Nepal, we shouldn't have this sort of non-issue of opening ceremonies or not. They should do the hard work of quiet diplomacy to urge the Chinese government -- in their interest -- to take advantage of this opportunity to do something," Hadley said. [Link]
Did he say 'Nepal'? He must have just misspoken.
He went on, "The way to deal with the issue of Nepal is not by some -- a statement that you're not going to the opening ceremonies and say, therefore, I checked the Nepal box." [Link]
Did he say it again? Well, Tibet and Nepal are next to each other, so it's easy to get them mixed up -- just as millions of people around the world get America and Mexico mixed up.
And it didn't end there. "What he's doing on Nepal is what we think the international community ought to be doing, which is approaching the Chinese privately through diplomatic channels and sending a very firm message of concern for human rights, a concern for what's happening in Nepal ... ." [Link]
He said 'Nepal' two more times! Didn't Stephanunscrupulous correct him? Nope, apparently not. Perhaps he thought 'Nepal' and 'Tibet' are one and the same, too.
It's one thing when Bush messes up. We're used to that. But this is the guy who advises Bush, the guy who's supposed to set him straight.
Makes you wonder what other countries have been mixed up, doesn't it?
Bush: "I just followed your advice, Stephen. I just ordered an invasion of Iraq to protect America from WMDs."
Hadley: "Iraq? I thought I said Iran."
Bush: "No, you definitely said Iraq. You said it five times. It's in the minutes of our meeting."
Hadley: "Well, I believe Iran is a bigger threat to our security."
Bush: "Are you sure you mean Iran?"
Hadley: "Well, I'll have to check the intelligence reports again, but I'm sure it's a country beginning with 'I'."
Bush: "You idiot! Don't tell me we were supposed to invade India!"

omg! hilarious dope!! honestly.. my jaws hurt from laughing so hard.
i strongly feel most Americans are in urgent need of geography lessons. you must (if you haven't already) watch miss teen south carolina's huge blond moment on youtube where she speaks of the lack of maps in America..it's gold.
i'm surely coming back to your blog for more. keep posting!
peace!
Posted by: Ranjita | April 22, 2008 at 10:46 AM